Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

“Okay. What is the fastest way to get you there?” Rhene said.

Gratitude filled Erwan’s heart. Rhene didn’t even waste time asking how Erwan knew this. He simply believed him.

“Teleportation,” Fergal said. “Do we have anyone with a strong teleportation gift?”

One of the omegas stepped forward, cautiously raising his hand. “I do.”

“What’s your name?” Rhene asked.

Teleportation hadn’t occurred to Erwan, but, of course, it would be much faster than flying.

“I’m Cedric, alpha.”

“He’s part of my clan,” Fergal said. “Which is good because that means he’ll be able to find his way to Canada, where we live. From there, it shouldn’t be too hard to get King Erwan home.”

“Okay, great. Let’s go.” Erwan tugged on Rhene’s hand.

“Hold on.” Rhene held Erwan back. “Are you willing to do this?” he asked Cedric.

Right. Erwan had never thought to ask the omega, but he should have. All he could say in his defense was that he was too emotional to think, but that wasn’t an excuse. “Sorry, yes. Please let me know if you want to do this.”

Cedric’s eyes were as wide as saucers, probably because he’d never encountered an alpha who apologized. Or an alpha who asked for his consent, for that matter. “It would be my honor, Your Majesty.”

The sooner Erwan got home, the sooner he would be rid of that whole ridiculous formality of his title. It had only been a few days, and he was already so tired of it. “Thank you. It means more to me than I can say.” He looked at Rhene. “Are we good to go now?”

“He can only take one,” Fergal said apologetically.

“That’s okay,” Rhene said. “You go, my darling, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

What? No. he wasn’t going without Rhene. “But… But I don’t want to go by myself. I need you there.”

Rhene pulled him into his arms, and as always, the strength of his embrace gave Erwan comfort. “I know, but you’ll be much faster by yourself. If you wait for me, it may be too late.”

What he said made complete sense, yet everything inside Erwan protested at the thought of having to do this without his mate by his side. “I so wish you could come with me.”

“So do I.” Rhene brought his mouth close to Erwan’s ear. “But someone needs to make sure these omegas are okay too. I gave Zacharias my word.”

And that was quintessential Rhene Hightower. While Erwan had no doubt he was Rhene’s priority, Rhene’s promise to Zacharias meant a lot to him. Rhene was a man of his word, and Erwan could only respect that. “I’ll have no way of contacting you. How will I know if you’re okay?”

“You’ll know, my darling. Our souls are connected. I promise you I will be fine.”

“You can’t promise that.”

Rhene’s face softened. “No, I can’t. You’re right. But I can promise I’ll do whatever I can to get back to you.”

“Please come back soon. I don’t want to do this without you.” Erwan leaned in for a kiss, and Rhene took him up on his offer, taking his time kissing him. Erwan poured every bit of his love into that kiss. “I love you,” he said for good measure.

“I love you too. Safe travels.”

It wasn’t until Erwan looked around that he realized someone—Gregor, probably—had pulled up a magical screen around them, providing them with privacy. It came down now, and Erwan sent Gregor a look of gratitude.

“Please trust that we’ll take care of him,” Gregor said, and Erwan nodded.

He squared his shoulders, willing away the emotion bubbling inside him at the thought of leaving Rhene, then looked at Cedric. “Are you ready to go? Is there anything we need?”

“Only anything you want to bring home with you. If you can carry it, I can bring it.”

He didn’t need anything. He had enough clothes back home, and he didn’t care about anything else right now. “I’m ready.”

“Outside is easier,” Cedric said. What did he mean? Right, the omega was waiting for him to go first. Of course. Another one of those stupid alpha things.

He walked outside, where a crowd had gathered around the meeting tent, sensing something was going on. Not so much Erwan leaving as the whole drama before that, which all seemed irrelevant right now.

“I need to hold your hands,” Cedric said, and it sounded like an apology.

“You do whatever you need to do. I’m counting on you.”

“If you haven’t done this much, it can be disorienting. You may experience some nausea after we arrive, but it’ll be over in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Considering he’d already thrown up earlier when he found out about the red tent, he doubted he had anything left in his stomach.

“Hold on, and don’t let go.”

Cedric took his hands, and a warm glow spread through Erwan’s body. He closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to take a last look at Rhene, he couldn’t. If he saw his mate, he might never find the courage to leave.

Everything started shaking, like an earthquake was happening. Things whooshed by, but he kept his eyes clenched shut. Something told him he wouldn’t like it if he opened them. He was cold and growing chillier by the minute, an icy wind whipping around his body. It felt like he stood on rock, then snow, but only for a moment, and so he kept his eyes closed.

“Hang on,” Cedric said. As if Erwan had any intention of letting go.

He had no idea how long it lasted, but finally, his feet landed on solid ground again, even though he was still shaking.

“You can open your eyes,” Cedric said.

Erwan blinked against the warm light of the morning sun that stood low in the sky. “Where are we?”

“We made a few stops in between for safety, but we’re now half a mile north of our compound,” Cedric said. “I didn’t want to get closer. If the guards pick up on us, they may want to investigate, and we don’t have time for that.”

“We’re in Canada? Already?”

Cedric nodded, smiling. “I take it you have little experience teleporting?”

“That was my first time.”

Cedric gasped. “Oh my gosh, if you had told me, I would’ve explained more so you’d be prepared. I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“I’m sorry, but things are a little vague right now, probably because of the shock. Were you one of the omegas who said they wanted to transition to my clan?”

“I am. If the offer still stands.”

“Absolutely. Look, Cedric, can I be frank with you?” When Cedric nodded, Erwan continued, “As you may have guessed, my clan is very different from what you’re used to. One of the things is that I don’t care about my title. So please, call me Erwan. I understand it may take some getting used to, so just try it. I promise I won’t get upset if you forget about it, but it would mean a lot to me if you used my name.”

“You want me to call you by your first name?”

“Yes, please. I’m serious.”

“I will do my best…Erwan.”

“Thank you. Now, what’s our next step?”

“For the next part, I need your help. I can only teleport to places I have been to, and obviously, I’ve never been to your…house? Castle?”

“We live on a massive ranch.”

“A ranch. So what I need you to do is picture it in your mind as clearly as possible and, above all, feel it. Whatever emotion about your home is the strongest, I need you to hold on to that. I can tap into that sensation and use it as a beacon.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“Oh, and please pick somewhere safe for us to appear. We don’t want to get shot because we show up right in front of armed guards, which I assume you have.”

“Good point. Yes, we do.”

Cedric reached his hands out once more, and Erwan took them. Once again, he closed his eyes, but this time, he called up his memories of the ranch. How easy it was to picture the green meadows swaying in the gentle wind. The bird song around him and Rhene as they walked through the fields, hand in hand. The comfort and coziness of their home. Their son, safe in his little bassinet, making those cute smacking noises as he slept. Fresh bread in the kitchen, Lev making soup, Sivney bossing everyone around…

Erwan had a million memories, all of them good, filling him with warmth and gratitude and love. How blessed he was to have found that home with the wolves, with his mates. It was such a contrast to the cold castle he had grown up in, where the only sunshine had come from his mom.

This time, as they traveled south, he barely sensed the journey, suspended above time and space, until they landed again. The second his feet found solid ground, he took a deep breath, and tears formed in his eyes. It smelled like home.

“We’re here.” He opened his eyes. “We’re home.”

Cedric let go of his hands and looked around with curiosity. “How far away are we?”

“We’re right between the two ranches. To our left is the PTP ranch, home to the Hayes pack. To our right are the Hightower lands, the home of the Hightower pack and the True Doyle clan.”

“You mean the Doyle clan? You can leave out the ‘true’ now after that vote.”

Cedric was right. “That’ll take some getting used to, like everything else.”

“So, where would your mother be?”

Erwan didn’t even have to think. “They’re in the meeting barn.”

He set off before he’d finished his sentence, and Cedric followed his lead. Erwan made sure not to run too fast so the omega could keep up with him, and soon enough, the first cabins came into sight. Strange that the guards hadn’t picked up on his presence by now. He would’ve expected one of them to have stopped them.

But no one did, and he didn’t see anyone. The fields were empty, and no one was walking around, which was unusual. Where was everyone?

When he got closer to the meeting barn, he had his answer. They were all inside. Everyone. The hum of sheer power radiating from the crowd was incredible, singing through his veins, lighting the fire inside him until it roared.

He was out of breath when he reached the barn, with Cedric right behind him.

“Erwan!” Blair called. He was standing guard at the door with one of the Hayes guards. “Thank the gods you are here.”

“Is she still alive?” Erwan asked.

“Yes. But hurry.”

“Blair, this is Cedric, a former O’Connor omega who will join our clan. Please take care of him, will you?”

There, Cedric was all set, and Erwan could focus on his mom. He rushed into the barn, coming to a full stop when he took in the number of people crammed into that space. Not merely his clan and his pack but all the Hayes wolves as well, even Lidon and his mates. Hell, even the kids were all there. The only one missing was Rhene.

His brothers stood right at the center, and people made way for him when he walked over to them. Hands clamped his shoulders, whispered words of encouragement and gratitude were sent his way, and more than one person let out a deep sigh of relief.

His mom was as pale as parchment, her skin already taken on that deadly pallor. “Mom…” Erwan sank to his knees next to the cot she lay on. “Mom, I’m here.”

“Mo mhac,” she whispered, and he took her fragile hand in his and pressed a kiss on it.

“Yes, Mom, it’s me.”

“King Erwan of the Doyles. The gods have blessed me that I have seen this day.”

“We did it, Mom. We went to the Dragon Council, and they declared me king.”

“Aye, and you’ve drained your sire’s power with it. But watch your back, mo mhac. He will not rest until he’s dead.”

In other words, nothing had changed, but Erwan didn’t say that part aloud.

“Help me sit up,” his mom said to Valdis and Nadiv. When they didn’t immediately obey, she sighed. “It will not change anything. Please.”

Erwan’s two youngest brothers assisted her, lifted her into an upright position, put the back of the cot up, and placed extra pillows to support her.

“Bring me my grandchildren so I might bless them.”

Was it Erwan’s imagination, or was his mom’s voice already getting weaker?

Jermon gestured at his mates to come over with the hatchlings. They took them out of the slings and placed them next to their mom. The little babies woke up, but instead of displaying their usual crazy energy, they were subdued, allowing Erwan’s mom to gather them in her left arm and hold them against her.

“They’re beautiful,” she croaked. “So precious.”

Yitro came up behind Erwan and handed him Ainle. Oh, he had already changed in the few days since Erwan had seen him last. How was that possible? “Hey, buddy,” Erwan cooed. He pressed a kiss on his soft baby cheek. “I missed you.”

He handed his son to his mom, who took him in her right arm. She now had both her arms full, holding her five grandchildren. “Emma, you too.”

No, it hadn’t been Erwan’s imagination. Her voice was getting weaker.

Wait. Why was she asking for Emma? He studied the woman he considered his sister-in-law, and he knew. Five little eggs, their sparks bright and strong, greeted him from her womb. Tears filled his eyes again. Gods, what a wonderful surprise.

Emma rested her hand on the shoulder of Erwan’s mom, who let out a sigh. “Yes. Now we are complete. My boys, put your hands on me.”

They were connected, all of them, fire blazing through them unlike anything Erwan had ever experienced. If the fire was so strong, the magic so powerful, why wasn’t it enough to save his mom?

“My life has come to an end. Gods, if I have found favor in your eyes, hear my plea. May the White Dragon bring justice and honor, restoring the alliance of old. May he find the courage and wisdom to sacrifice what must be given up to gain what must be won. May the gods favor his sons and give them the mates to change the course of history.”

She sounded stronger now, but the fire inside her dwindled, and Erwan’s throat clenched.

“May the Doyle clan shine a beacon so brightly it will draw in dragons from across the world. May it be blessed and bountiful, bringing joy and freedom to all who join. As I will, so mote it be.”

Erwan was crying, his sobs mixed with those of his brothers and Emma. His mom blinked as a smile spread across her face. “I love you all so very much. Being your mother was my calling, and my work is done. You make me proud.”

“Mom…” Valdis cried out. “Mom, please…”

“‘Tis my time, my child. But fear not. My fire will live on in all of you.” She took a deep breath. “Before my fire dies and my magic with it, I command it into my children and my children’s children.”

Then she breathed out, and her fire was gone.

Queen Grian of the Doyles had taken her last flight into the eternal realm.